Sailing

No. 13 Ranked Engineers Reign First in Rudolph Oberg Trophy

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Host MIT, ranked No. 13 in the Sailing World national rankings, continued its run of success with a first-place finish out of 18 entries at the Rudolph Oberg Trophy this past weekend. The Engineers beat out Boston College for the top spot during the two-day event that featured three divisions.

A-Division skipper Jack Field and crew Karlen Ruleman tackled the first day's wild winds by tallying four first place marks. Facing gusty and puffy northwesterly breezes at 15-20 knots, Tech's dynamic duo sailed the long windward leeward courses with grace, never finishing worse than tenth during Saturday's 12 rounds. Continuing their dominance into Sunday's five jousts, Field and Ruleman scored an overall 90, after posting a first-place and a pair of sixth-place marks on the calmer second day.

Even more stunning was Tech's first-place ranking in C-Division. Posting a remarkable score of 52, skipper Brooks Reed and crews Sylvia Yang and Sunny Wicks rang up an unprecedented 14 top-five slots. The trio finished atop the board six times and never dipped below ninth.

Tech's third-place finish in B-Division was almost as telling. Skipper Jake Muhleman and crew Julie Arsenault registered 11 top-five marks, including a pair of first-place slots, to finish with a score of 106. Four rounds in which they placed higher than 10th kept them from an even more prominent ranking.

Among the New England teams featured in the event were top rivals Boston University, Harvard University, Tufts University, and co-host Northeastern University.

MIT received a strong performance by its A-Division team at the Stu Nelson Trophy, but the Engineers settled for 13th overall at Connecticut College. With five top-five slots, skipper Libby Palmer and crew Ashley Cantieny placed sixth in the higher circuit out of 17 entries.